Zebra Ministries

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Good morning Zebras,

One of the greatest dangers of begging on God’s behalf is it’s so easy to go that one extra step to win someone to the faith and water down the Gospel. To get excited and offer “cheap grace,” salvation with no strings attached. A ticket out of hell, with the unstated understanding that God doesn’t expect anything in return. Which is simply not true.

We can, like Paul, change ourselves to reach someone with the Gospel, but we should never change God because if we do it is no longer begging, it is lying.

1 Corinthians 9:22: “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”

Notice, Paul changed, God did not.

God has done everything to save us, He called us to Himself and He provided the way of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection paid the price for our sins and restored man’s broken relationship with God. There is no other way to God except through Jesus.

Nothing we do can ever pay Him back for our lives, but that does not mean we owe Him nothing. What it does mean is when we realize all He has done for us, the natural and reasonable response is to give Him back the life He saved.

We have all heard of the tradition that if you save a man’s life he becomes your slave until he repays his debt. In the case of Christ, it’s a debt we can never repay so we have become His slave for life, but because He’s a loving God, He made us sons instead. And true happiness and joy is found when we finally understand that.

We don’t do anyone any favors when we cheapen God’s grace and offer them something that doesn’t exist. Instead we need to speak truth, God loves them and gave up His Son so that they could be with Him forever. Accepting Him will change everything. Rejection is death.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the entire Gospel, spoken with love and truth is what changes lives. But for most of us that’s just not easy to do.

Dear Heavenly Father, Please give us the words to speak to those who don’t know you, make us willing to die to ourselves and become beggars on Your behalf. And please keep us from misrepresenting You to the world, because it’s truth of who You really are that sets people free. Amen.

Love,

Jill

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Why Zebras?

In the summer of 2008 I was looking at a herd of zebras in a wild animal park and commented to my son that I didn’t understand why the lions didn’t just eat the zebras because their markings make them so obvious. He told me that the opposite was actually true. God has marked zebras so when they hang together in a herd, their stripes create the illusion they are one large animal and therefore too big to attack. It is the lone zebra that is usually eaten. The same is true of Christians; we must hang together and encourage each other to fight off the lions. The lone Christian is easy prey.

1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Therefore:

Zebras was started to encourage women who desire to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, who want their lives to be transformed to honor God and who are willing to be “zebras” in a world of “horses”. Zebras exists to reassure you that you are not alone and that God has called you to be peculiar. As a peculiar person you should look different than the world

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Pastor Endorsement

Jill Getchell speaks from her heart and from God’s word in a way that brings encouragement and hope to God’s people. I’ve been blessed to hear her at Awana conferences, a women’s retreat, and from the pulpit of our church. I am confident your people will be equally blessed by spending the day with Jill at We Have Hope...your church will be blessed as well.

Pastor Al Marks

First Baptist Church Vallejo

I have known Jill for many years now. She truly desires to encourage the churches in our community and to strengthen the believers that attend our churches. Her passion for Jesus comes out in her ability to speak, and her heart is to encourage all those that attend to go back into their churches and be a blessing.

Pastor Kelly Patchin

New Harbor Community Church, Benicia

I believe women are vital to the unity and health of the church. They bear the image of God and serve Him in a great way within His church. Zebras has the ability to unite and excite women to grow in their faith and in their relationships with each other. In John 17:20 Jesus says, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” One of Christ’s last prayers for His church is that they would be one as He is with the Father. And through our unity the world can come to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. Unity is essential for a healthy church and healthy relationships between women. Zebras can stimulate healthy growth in the spiritual lives of the women in your church too. It is a blessing at New Harbor and I believe it would be a blessing for any pastor to have in their church.

Kelly Patchin, Pastor
New Harbor Community Church

Testimonies

The Zebra herd has given me the opportunity to be myself. I think we all have a face we put on for others, especially on Sunday. We don’t want to let anyone see the pain or hurt we’re suffering because we feel that it’s a reflection on our walk with Christ. I now have a group of loving Christian women with whom to share the joys and sorrows equally… Without the Zebras, I’d still be wearing my Sunday face. ...............Dawn C.

The Zebra ministry has deepened my relationship with Christ and the women at my church beyond what I thought possible... Most importantly, it has given me a safe place to be very, very real… I have learned how to be transparent and allow my fellow Zebra sisters to support me in prayer and God to minister to the deepest part of my soul--the part that needed it the most.................... Jennifer H.

When I came to New Harbor Church I was so lonely. I knew I needed the fellowship of other Christian women but did not know if I could break out of my self-imposed isolation. I felt unworthy of anyone’s friendship, let alone" godly people"... But Zebras has made me feel the true acceptance of these wonderful women. I have slowly opened my heart to them, with their encouragement and love! I don't have that heavy ache of solitude anymore. ................Barbara B.

I was with you in the beginning meetings of the herd and watched it evolve into a place where we as sisters in Christ could share our burdens without judgment. Being a Zebra helped me through a very trying time- Leap of Faith– leaving a relationship, selling my home and trusting in God. It was encouraging to know that I was not alone and being a part of a group where women could feel understood, comforted, and lifted up spiritually. .................Tracy M.

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